The following afternoon, the Suns gathered at their practice facility.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Clang!"
"Swish!"
Led by Blake and Curry, the players trained and warmed up in preparation for Game 2 against the Mavericks that evening.
Carter was among them.
After several months of rehabilitation, he had finally made a full recovery.
It had never been a serious injury, just a sprained ankle. However, with Carter getting older, giving him extra time to recover certainly was not a bad thing.
More importantly, the Suns were in excellent form. Even without Carter, they were more than capable of competing.
That was why his return had been delayed until today.
Before long, Alvin Gentry walked over and pulled Carter aside.
"You look like you've recovered well," he said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to your comeback tonight."
"Huh?"
Carter frowned.
"Coach, did you really pull me aside just to tell me that?"
Gentry chuckled.
"Since you put it that way, I'll get straight to the point. You know you were always a starter before.
"But you've only just recovered. I think you should come off the bench tonight and see how your body responds. After that, we can decide whether you should return to the starting lineup.
"What do you think?"
"That's all?"
Carter froze for a moment, then laughed.
"No problem. I was planning to come off the bench anyway. Blake, Curry, and George have only just found their rhythm together, and they're playing extremely well.
"I don't want to disrupt that. Besides, even though I've recovered from this injury, I can feel that my game has declined again.
"Players like me rely heavily on our athleticism. Once we get older, sometimes the mind is willing, but the body simply can't keep up.
"So if possible, I'd be fine coming off the bench permanently. That might let me stay in the league a little longer."
"You really feel that way?"
Gentry was slightly surprised.
After all, Carter had once been one of the league's famed "Big Four" shooting guards. Asking a player of his stature to accept a bench role had seemed like it might be difficult.
Yet it had gone far more smoothly than Gentry expected.
"Of course."
Carter nodded with a smile.
"That's good to hear. Keep it up, Carter. The older you get, the craftier you'll become."
Gentry smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
With that, it was settled. Carter would come off the bench in his return that night.
...
At 8:30 p.m., both teams were warming up on the court at US Airways Center, with thirty minutes remaining before tip-off.
The home crowd filled the arena with enthusiastic cheers for the Suns.
Mia Quinn had also come to watch the game tonight and cheer Blake on.
Before long, warm-ups ended, both starting lineups took the floor, and the game began.
"Jump ball!"
Once again, Blake and Chandler stood at center court for the opening tip.
Curry looked at Chandler's intensely serious expression and shook his head.
"Against overwhelming talent, the harder you try, the more it's going to hurt."
Sure enough, Chandler jumped with everything he had, determined to win the tip.
Blake still flicked the ball away with apparent ease, leaving Chandler's face dark with frustration.
"Smack!"
Nash calmly collected the ball and initiated the Suns' first possession.
He dribbled to the top of the arc, then lobbed the ball to Blake at the right elbow.
"Thud!"
Blake backed down Marion.
Kidd came over to help and tried to poke the ball away, but Blake kept things simple.
One hard bump.
"Whoosh!"
He immediately turned into a fadeaway jumper.
Kidd never had a chance to steal the ball, while Marion leaped as high as he could but simply could not make up the difference in height.
"Swish!"
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Blake scored easily on the Suns' first possession.
"Marion simply can't guard Blake. If the Mavericks want to contain him, they have to send a double-team. They may even need three defenders."
At the other end, Nowitzki called for a screen to shake Blake and caught the ball at the left elbow against Paul George.
George immediately crowded him and applied pressure.
"Thud!"
"Whoosh!"
Nowitzki backed him down several times, then spun and used an excellent angle to create space for his One-Legged Fadeaway.
Would it fall?
"Clang!"
No.
Blake grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Nash, who pushed the break.
Nash found Curry in stride, and Curry launched a trailing three.
"Clang!"
That one missed as well.
But George fought for the offensive rebound and knocked the ball forward.
Blake cut into the lane, caught it, and rose in one smooth motion.
"BOOM!"
He threw down a powerful dunk.
The Mavericks took possession.
The moment Nowitzki caught the ball at the high post, Blake pressed up against him again.
Nash suddenly darted in from the wing, looking for a steal.
"Whoosh!"
Nowitzki anticipated it.
He protected the ball, then passed over Nash's head to Kidd at the right elbow.
Kidd caught it and rose for a jumper.
"Swish!"
Good.
"With Nowitzki drawing the defense, Kidd gets an open look. That's the offensive rhythm the Mavericks need to maintain.
"Wow!
"At the other end, Blake powers into the lane and draws three defenders before kicking it out to Nash on the perimeter.
"Nash fires without hesitation.
"Bang!
"He knocks down the three!"
"Tsk, tsk. Blake has shut down Nowitzki one-on-one yet again. Nowitzki hasn't been able to get a clean look at all. He was forced into a difficult miss on the previous possession.
"Is he going to force another one now?
"No. He finds Kidd in the left corner.
"Kidd misses the three. He got the shot off, but the pass was too obvious, and Curry managed to disrupt him.
"The Suns are running again.
"Wow! It's Blake once more. He drives and draws both Marion and Nowitzki, then kicks it out to Nash.
"Nash redirects the ball immediately to George, who is cutting down the lane.
"George comes flying in for a two-handed slam!
"BOOM!
"The rim is begging for mercy!"
"Holy shit! Another Suns fast break!
"Blake and George connect again. George rises with the ball held high and throws down another two-handed dunk.
"The Mavericks look completely stunned."
"Beep! Beep!"
With Jon Barry calling the action at full volume, Carlisle had no choice but to call a timeout and halt the Suns' ferocious run-and-gun attack.
At the commentary table, Mark Jackson stared at the court in disbelief.
"This is incredible. Only five minutes have passed, and with Blake leading the way, the Suns' advanced run-and-gun offense is already in full swing. They've built a ten-point lead.
"It's another dream start.
"The Mavericks are supposed to be strong on both ends of the floor, so how have the Suns taken control so easily in two straight games?
"Could it really be that simple? Has Blake's ability to shut down Nowitzki turned this series into a truly one-sided affair?"
...
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